(The Center Square) – The Pacific Legal Foundation and physician organization Do No Harm are suing Tennessee over racial quotas required to serve on the state’s boards and commissions.
The 13-page lawsuit filed in U.S District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee says laws that require the governor to appoint members based on race violate the 14th Amendment.
The lawsuit specifically aims at the state’s Board of Medical Examiners and Board of Chiropractic Examiners. State law requires the governor to “strive to ensure the full twelve-member board is composed of at least . . . one (1) person who is an African-American” on the board, according to the lawsuit.
“It’s unconstitutional in allowing for people to be picked or not based on just the color of their skin or their ethnicity, ignoring their individual merit,” said Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Caleb Trotter in an interview with The Center Square. “That very notion of people being prefaced of others based on their race is an odious concept under the equal protection clause.”
The organizations are also challenging a race requirement for the Tennessee Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners.
“State medical boards are given important responsibilities to oversee the quality of care in their state and the safety of patients,” said Do No Harm Chairman Dr. Stanley Goldfarb. “It is crucial that they be the most qualified physicians available. Like all aspects of health care, patient safety and patient concerns should be primary, not the skin color or the racial makeup of any oversight committee.”
Tennessee is not the only state that considers race or sex for board memberships, according to a 2023 study by the Pacific Legal Foundation. Race or sex is considered in 14 states for some boards.
The Pacific Legal Foundation won an Iowa lawsuit challenging a gender balance requirement for the State Judicial Nominating Commission. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill in April banning the requirements.
The Iowa Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, the League of Women Voters of Iowa and the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club were among the organizations opposing the bill.